Prairie Notes

Plant Spotlight: Spigelia marilandica

Bright red, versatile, compact habit and attracts hummingbirds…why has the landscaping industry so often overlooked this plant? Spigelia is a lesser known and underutilized species for native gardens. We rarely see it in landscape designs in this area, and it can be hard to find commercially available. What gives? Read on to find out about […]

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Native Plants in Modern Horticulture: Terminology

We get a lot of questions about what exactly it means for a native plant to be a cultivar or a variety, and how that might affect pollinator attraction or ecological value. The short answer is: it’s complicated! To really understand the conversation happening around nativars, it is important to understand how they come to […]

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Plant Resiliency

As we edge closer to summer, I have been thinking about how we go about choosing plants for our yards. Certainly, we choose plants that we like aesthetically, but many of us also want to choose plants that help wildlife survive. Yet another reason for choosing a particular plant is its resiliency or persistency in the landscape. How […]

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Peonies, please!

Peonies are in full bloom right now, and what a show! They are an old fashioned favorite, and a plant can only achieve such a title by being easy enough to grow that it lives on to be beloved by multiple generations. Don’t we all remember peonies in grandma’s garden? As well recognized as they […]

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Early May Blooms at the Arboretum

As we work further into spring, I thought I would share some rare and some common prairie plants in bloom at the Arboretum the first week of May. Enjoy! We have been fortunate to receive just enough rain to green up the prairie nicely. If you are in the area, stop by and see the […]

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